Beijing is hoping subsidies for rice cookers, microwave ovens and smartphones can boost sluggish spending and help the country weather an economic storm from incoming US president Donald Trump.Policymakers have struggled to get China’s billion-strong army of consumers to inject cash into the economy as a prolonged real estate crisis weighs on confidence.And last week, they expanded a subsidy scheme for common household items, from water purifiers and refrigerators to laptops and electric vehicles.Outside a bustling shopping centre in Sanlitun, one of the capital’s most popular commercial districts, 25-year-old Li Ling told AFP the policy could work as an “incentive”.”If someone’s budget is not very abundant, such policies can support them in their consideration about buying things,” she said.”I think the policy can just be regarded as an incentive,” she said.Beijing is nervously looking to the second administration of Donald Trump, who has vowed brutal tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation for Beijing’s allegedly unfair trade practices — fuelling fears of another trade war.And experts say the country may need to shift towards a growth model driven largely by domestic consumption as those pressures mount.Under the broadened subsidy scheme, people can get 20 percent off microwave ovens, water purifiers, dishwashers and rice cookers, among other things — with the state covering the discount of up to 2,000 yuan ($275).Gadgets such as smartphones, tablets and smartwatches also now receive subsidies of up to 15 percent.- ‘Saving is meaningless’ -Shopper Yang Boyun told AFP that he recently took advantage of the new deal.”I bought three Xiaomi air conditioners,” he said, referring to one of China’s leading consumer goods brands. “They all only cost 8,000-9,000 yuan. Normally each one would cost more than 4,000 yuan,” he said.But Yang, a worker in the crisis-hit property sector, said much stronger action was needed for the country to reverse its economic malaise.”Only after some changes to the macroeconomic regulation of the country will individuals feel the effects,” he said.Beijing is set to release a tranche of economic data Friday and analysts expect the country to report its weakest growth in decades.In bustling Sanlitun, student Wang Jiaxin said she was prioritising spending on things she enjoyed.”If it’s on food and drinks and buying more beautiful clothes then I’ll spend a bit more,” she said.Next year Wang said she planned to enter China’s job market — beset in recent years with high youth unemployment — rather than continue studying.But she expressed cautious optimism about her chances.”I can definitely find a job. But what kind of job it is really depends,” she said. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to find a good one, but I’ll definitely be able to support myself.”Meanwhile, Yang told AFP his thinking on personal spending had shifted.”In the past I may have saved some money, but now I feel that one small thing may cause debt — like if you get sick, you will be in debt,” he said.”But money is something that should be used to enjoy the present,” he added. “Saving money is meaningless. The most important thing for us now is to be happy.”

The World Bank plans to loan cash-strapped Pakistan $20 billion over the coming decade to nurture its private sector and bolster resilience to climate change, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said.Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded shock from the global economic downturn and drove the nation’s debt burden to terminal levels.It was saved by a $7 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and has enjoyed a degree of recovery, with inflation easing and foreign exchange reserves increasing.Sharif said the World Bank funding would be used for “child nutrition, quality education, clean energy, climate resilience, inclusive development and private investment”.The deal “reflects the World Bank’s confidence in Pakistan’s economic resilience and potential,” he said on social media platform X on Wednesday.Pakistan has for decades grappled with a chronically low tax base and mammoth amounts of external debt, which swallow up half its annual revenues.The IMF deal — Pakistan’s 24th since 1958 — came with stern conditions that the country improve income tax takings and cut popular power subsidies, cushioning costs of the inefficient sector.The World Bank said the new $20 billion scheme would begin in the fiscal year 2026 and last until 2035.”The economy is recovering from the recent crisis as the government has launched an ambitious programme of fiscal, energy and business environment reforms,” said a summary of the plan released by the World Bank.But it warned that a “track record of past stop-and-go reform episodes handicaps the government’s credibility”, meaning that new investment may be “slow to materialise”.The World Bank therefore plans for “more selective, stable, and larger investments in areas critical for sustained development and that require time and persistence for impact”, it said.The World Bank’s Pakistan director Najy Benhassine said in a statement the deal “represents a long-term anchor” that will “address some of the most acute development challenges facing the country”.